Home appliance



Nov. 8, 1960 w. R. BOWER EI'AL 2,958,912

HOME APPLIANCE Filed Aug. 17, 1959 FIGI 2 Sheets-Sheet l FIG. 2 7 -43 22,

.J h. Hi as f lNVENTORSi WARREN R. BOWER ALAN J. KOCH JOHN T. WOODS B ATT 'YS Nov, 8, 1960 w. R. BOWER EIAL 2,958,912

HOME APPLIANCE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 1'7, 1959 FICA iNVEhiTORS: WARREN R. BOWER ALAN J. KOCH ATT'YS United States ,Patei'if HOME APPLIANCE Warren R. Bower, St. Paul, Minn., and Alan J. Koch and John T. Woods, Evansville, Ind., assignors to Whirl pool Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Ang. 17, 1959, Ser. No. s34,oo

4 Claims.: (Cl. 207-69). 7

This invention relates to a magnetic gasket structure for sealingthe space between a frame member such as the frame defining the opening of a cabinet and a doormember.

The magnetic gasket structure of this invention is applicable for use-in holding a door such as a refrigerator door on a refrigerator cabinet closed, thereby replacing the customary latch and also for sealing the space between the closed door and the frame surrounding the door opening. The magnetic gasket structure of this invention includes a pliable extensive magnet of the well known type and has a number of advantages over prior types of latches and seals. The new gasket structure provides a positive and continuous door seal when the door is closed and also holds the door closed, so that it the door opening due to changes in shape because of temperature differentials, variations in the dimensions and contour of the door and cabinet frame and requires less critical door adjustment. Another advantage is that the gasket structure of this invention permits the magnet to have complete freedom of movement, so that the sealing portion of the gasket can pull up firmly against the face of the refrigerator cabinet or the like to provide a positive seal and a positive closure regardless of whether the face is smooth and fiat.

One of the features of this invention is to provide such an improved magnetic gasket structure comprising a flexible, elongated magnet, and a flexible, extensible means movably mounting the magnet on one of said members for movement toward and away from the other member for operative engagement with said other member when the door member is closed, said other member including a metal means functioning as an armature for said magnet.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of certain embodiments thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Of the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of a refrigerator cabinet omitting interior details but including a door hinged to the cabinet arranged in open position and having attached thereto a magnetic gasket structure embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary enlarged view of the gasket of Figure 1 but separate from the door.

Figure 3' is a sectional view taken substantially along line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view through the handle side of a refrigerator door and adja- 2,958,912 ..-Paitented Nov. 8,1960

in closedpo'sition.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 3' but showing a second embodiment of the magnetic gasket structure.

Therefrigerator shown in Figure 1 comprisesa cabinet 10 and a door 11 hinged thereto by a plurality of hinges 12 of which only one is shown. The door frame 13 is adapted to be arranged-adjacent the cabinet frame 14 when the door is in closed position as illustrated in Figure '4.

Extending around the door frame 13 at the top 15, handle side 16 and bottom (not shown) is the magnetic gasket structure 17 of this invention. Extending along the hinge side 18 of the door is a non-magnetic gasket 19 which may be any of the ordinary compressible gasket. A preferred form of non-magnetic gasket especially adapted for this hinge side is shown and describedin L. G. Beckett and J. T. Woods patent application Serial No. 832,988, filed August .11, 1959, and assigned to the same. assignee as the present invention.

In the embodiment of Figures 1-4 inclusive the gasket side gasket 25. The gasket construction at each of these three sides is exactly the same so that Figures 3 and 4 illustrate in detail the gasket structure at substantially any point along the gaskets 23, 24 and 25.

.The magnetic strip 20 is well known and commercially available. It is flexible and is customarily made in one form'by extruding a polyvinyl plastic containing an Indox. material followed by magnetizing the strip. The strip is magnetized so that the north and south poles are both on the outer surface 21 as illustrated in Figure 3 and is magnetized so that the north pole extends across substantially one-half of the pole face 21 while the south pole extends over substantially the other half. For this reason the outer surface or pole face 21 is made relatively wide.

The rubbery, flexible housing 22 which is of generally rectangular cross section is attached to a resilient base section 26 by means of an extensible and collapsible bellows 27., The base section 26 includes a U-shaped mounting portion 32 adapted to be clamped against the door frame 13 by means of .an elongated clamp 28 held in place by a plurality of screws 29. The clamp 28 has an outer hook-shaped edge portion 30 that extends over and into the channel 31 of a generally U-shaped portion 32 that is formed integrally on the outer edge of the base section 26 with an overlying cover portion 33. As can be seen from-Figure 4, this cover portion 33 covers the clamp 28 and screws 29. The bottom of the portion 32 is provided with an outwardly and downwardly extending tapered edge portion 34 and a hollow longitudinal bead 35 both of which are held against the outer edge 36 of the door frame 13 to make a seal therewith.

The housing 22 for the magnetic strip is attached toth cover portion 33 at a location inwardly of the channel portion 32 by means of the above-mentioned bellows 27.

This bellows in the embodiment of 3 and 4 is providedwith thin, flexible, outwardly extending folded v In order to permit movement of the housing 22 and magnet 20 toward and away from the base section 26 and thus toward and away from door frame 13 the hollow interior 38 of the bellows 27 and the hollow interior 59 of the casing 22 are vented to the atmosphere by means of a base section opening 40 and a housing opening 41. The gaskets are vented by a pair of these openings in each of the top gaskets 23, bottom gasket 24 and handle side gasket 25. More than one pair of openings in each of these gaskets may of course be provided if desired.

As is obvious, the cabinet frame 14 is made of metal that will function as an armature for the magnet 20. The side 42 of the housing 22 that is between the magnet face 21 and the armature 14 when the door is closed is thin so that the magnet can provide sealing contact with the cabinet frame.

Although the gasket 17 is made up of top, bottom and side sections, the gasket is of integral construction in that the ends of these sides are joined by heat sealed mitered corners 43. The gasket including the housing 22, base section '26 and bellows 27 is of integral construction and is made of a resilient rubbery material such as polyvinyl or if desired of rubber although a synthetic rubber is preferred Because the elongated magnet 20 is flexible, it readily adapts itself to any imperfections in the cabinet frame 14. Furthermore, it also provides a positive latching or sealing action when the door frame or cabinet frame change dimensions due to temperature variations or to imperfections in manufacture. Because the magnet is adaptable to changing contours of the cabinet frame 14, it provides a seal in cooperation with the flexible housing 22 and in addition serves to hold the door shut.

When the door is moved toward closed position magnetic forces are set up between the magnets 20 and the cabinet frame 14 so that the magnets are attracted toward the cabinet frame. The flexibility of the bellows 27 permits the magnet and thus the housing 22 including the sealing side sections 42 to reach out as illustrated in Figure 4 and make intimate contact with the cabinet face 14. As the bellows 27 is continuous and imperforate, it provides a barrier seal across the space between the cabinet and door to prevent the entrance of Warm air from the outside or the exit of cold air. The provision of the hollow interior 38 within the bellows 27 aids in preventing heat transfer between the interior of the cabinet and the ambient atmosphere. As has been pointed out previously, the flexibility of the magnet 20 as well as the housing 22 permits the gasket structure to adjust to any waviness or imperfections or any variations in the distance between the frames 13 and 14 to provide a positive seal. The magnetic forces that cause the gasket to seal the cabinet opening are suflicient to hold the door in closed position without the necessity for additional latching means,

In one embodiment of the invention the magnet strip 20 had a cross section of inch by /6 inch. The magnet had a pull force of 0.156 pound per inch through a gap 0.015 inch.

Because the magnet is so extensive the total pull is suflicient to hold the door closed. However, it can be opened with only a very small force. Thus typical gaskets embodying the invention have required a pull of only between 2 /2 and 5 pounds total force to open the door. When the door is first opened the handle side gasket 25 first pulls away from the cabinet frame 14. Then, as the door continues to open the top gasket 23 and bottom gasket 24 peel away from the cabinet frame progressively from the gasket end adjacent the handle side 16 toward the hinge side 18. This progressive stripping of course requires relatively small force.

Figure 5 illustrates a second embodiment of the bellows construction. Thus in this embodiment the bellows 127 has the sides 137 extending inwardly toward each other instead of outwardly as illustrated in the first embodiment of Figures 3 and 4. The construction and operation of the gasket structure is otherwise the same.

Having described our invention as related to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, it is our intention that the invention be not limited by any of the details of description, unless otherwise specified, but rather be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as set out in the accompanying claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows 1. A cabinet comprising: a frame member; a door member normally closed against said frame member; a flexible, elongated magnet device; an armature for said magnet device on one of said frame and door members; and a mounting member on the other of said frame and door members, said magnet device being positioned on said mounting member and located adjacent said armature when the door is closed, said mounting member including a pair of flexible, elastic side portions of substantially equal elasticity spaced apart to provide an air space therebetween and with the side portions each having a longitudinally extending fold and being substantially equally extensible and retractable to move said magnet device toward and away from said one member.

2. A cabinet comprising: a frame member; a door member normally closed against said frame member; a flexible, elongated magnet device; an armature for said magnet device on one of said frame and door members; and a mounting member on the other of said frame and door members, said magnet device being positioned on said mounting member and located adjacent said armature when the door is closed, said mounting member including a pair of flexible, elastic side portions of substantially equal elasticity spaced apart to provide an air space therebetween and with the side portions each having a longitudinally extending fold and being substantially equally extensible and retractable to move said magnet device toward and away from said one member, said side portions being substantially symmetrically arranged with respect to the center of said magnet device.

3. A cabinet comprising: a frame member; a door member normally closed against said frame member; a flexible, elongated magnet device having an outer magnetic surface portion; an armature for said magnet device on one of said frame and door members; and a flexible, extensible and retractable mounting member on the other of said frame and door members, the magnet device being positioned on said mounting member with said outer surface portion being adjacent said armature when the door is closed, the flexibilities of said magnet device and said extensible and retractable mounting member permitting said magnet device to seal said outer surface portion securely against said one member and adapt itself to the contour of said one member in spite of imperfections in said contour, the magnetic attraction between said magnet device and said armature being suflicient to hold the door in closed position against accidental opening, said mounting member including a pair of flexible, elastic side portions of substantially equal elasticity spaced apart to provide an air space therebetween and with the side portions each having a longitudinally extending fold and being substantially equally extensible and retractable to substantially the same extent under a given force.

4. A cabinet comprising: a frame member; a door member normally closed against said frame member; a flexible elongated magnet device having an outer magnetic surface portion and an inner surface portion on the side of said magnet device opposite said outer surface portion; an armature for said magnet device on one of said frame and door members; and a flexible, extensible and retractable mounting member on the other of said frame and door members, the magnet device being positioned on said mounting member with said outer surface portion being adjacent said armature when the door is' closed, the flexibilities of said magnet device and said extensible and retractable mounting member permitting said magnet device to seal said outer surface portion securely against said one member and adapt itself to the contour of said one member in spite of imperfections in said contour, the magnetic attraction between said magnet device and said armature being suflicient to hold the door in closed position against accidental opening, said mounting member including a pair of flexible, elastic side portions of substantially equal elasticity adjacent said inner surface portion of said magnet device, said side portions being spaced apart to provide an air space there- 6 between, each side portion having a longitudinally extending fold to form a bellows, both side portions being extensible and retractable to substantially the same extent under a given force, the corresponding edges of said side portions being spaced apart and attached to said inner surface portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,471,635 Mark et a1. May 31, 1949 2,589,766 Bradley Mar. 18, 1952 2,659,115 Anderson et al. Nov, 17, 1953 2,659,118 Anderson et a1. Nov. 17, 1953 2,686,343 Harpoonian et a1. Aug. 17, 1954 2,914,819 Janos Dec. 1, 1959 

